12 Sukhoi Su-30 MKIs will be purchased by India, and the Defense Ministry has approved nine acquisition proposals totaling Rs. 45,000 Cr

The request to purchase 12 Sukhoi Su-30 MKI aircraft for the Indian Air Force, which will be produced in India by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited, was accepted by the Ministry of Defence on Friday. The aircraft and associated ground equipment are part of the $11,000 crore project.

Defense authorities claim that these Su-30 MKI aircraft, which would be the most advanced Sukhoi aircraft in the Indian Air Force, will have more than 60% indigenous material.

Rajnath Singh, the defense minister, presided over a meeting of the Defense purchase Council (DAC) on Friday, which accepted nine capital purchase requests totaling Rs. 45,000 crore.

The DAC granted Acceptance of Necessity (AoN) for the nine capital acquisition proposals, and it also granted AoN for the purchase of 12 Su-30 MKI aircraft.

These purchases, which will be made from Indian vendors under the Buy (Indian-Indigenously Designed, Developed, and Manufactured (IDMM)/Buy (Indian) category, are intended to support the accomplishment of “Aatmanirbhar Bharat.”

The DAC also granted the AoN permission to purchase a Light Armoured Multipurpose Vehicle (LAMV) and an Integrated Surveillance and Targeting System (ISAT-S) in order to boost the mechanized forces’ protection, offensive capabilities, mobility, and survival rate.

The acquisition of High Mobility Vehicle (HMV) Gun Towing Vehicles for fast militarization and deployment of Artillery Guns and Radars was approved for another AoN.

The next authorized purchase was for the Indian Navy’s Next Generation Survey Vessels, which would enhance its capacity to carry out Hydrographic Operations.

A few of the Indian Air Force’s plans were also granted by the DAC approval. These include upgrading the avionics of Dornier aircraft to increase operational precision and dependability. Then the DAC also gave the go-ahead for the purchase of the Dhruvastra Short Range Air-to-Surface Missile. For the locally produced ALH Mk-IV Helicopters, these missiles are an effective indigenous precision guided weapon.

According to Rajnath Singh, the defense minister, it is time to raise the bar on indigenization goals. “We should aim for a minimum 60-65 percent indigenous content for IDDM projects rather than a threshold of 50% indigenous content.”

The Indian Industry should be consulted as the Defence Minister has instructed the Chief of Defence Staff, Service Chiefs, Defence Secretary, and DG (Acquisition) to work on raising the minimum indigenous content criteria.